San Telmo

14 Meyers Place, Melbourne 9650 5525

Beef, egg and olive Empanada

Humita (Polenta, corn and basil chips) with chipotle mayonnaise

Ceviche – Peruvian style lemon cured white fish with chilli, sweet potato and onion

Mejilla de Cerdo: Braised Berkshire pork jowl ‘cheek’ with crackling

Bife de lomo: Riverina black angus eye fillet (150 day grain fed)

Hinojo: Fennel, chicory and orange salad with malbec vinaigrette

Flan: Dulce de leche crème caramel with salted peanut praline

Thoughts:

Beef, egg and olive Empanada – really good Traditional Argentine fried pastry. Note that the portion size is tiny so you may not want to share this and have one all to yourself = Good

Humita – Dense chips that have a interesting flavour, great chipotle mayonnaise = Good

Ceviche – fresh raw fish that had a sharp and spicy taste = Good

Mejilla de Cerdo – marvellous melt-in-your pork (as most of it was fat) with super crunchy crackling = Good

Bife de lomo – a tender, juicy cut of beef that had a nice smokey flavour to it = Good

Hinojo – we originally did not want to get a salad but became persuaded by our waiter who insisted that we needed something to accompany our steak. It was an okay salad, light and citrusy = Not bad

Flan – Heavenly! Rich crème caramel, crunchy salted peanut praline with a huge dollop of caramelised dulce de leche = Excellent

Overall:

A bustling place that serves exciting Argentine food that is designed for sharing. Be sure to try one of their steaks so that you can experience the unique smokey flavour that comes from their authentic parrilla (Argentine charcoal grill). The decor here was definitely bovine inspired: cowhide and leather everywhere! Service was quite good, with our waiter being highly knowledgeable of all the dishes on offer.

Acland St Cantina

2 Acland St, St Kilda 9536 1175

Salted caramel ice cream churros tacos

Triple chocolate & chilli trifle with passionfruit

Thoughts:

Churros tacos – I initially thought that this was going to be a mix between a churro and a taco but it turned out to be churros dough that had been piped out into a round flat shape. As it turned out the combination of warm cinnamon churros, cold salted caramel ice cream and crunchy praline, drizzled with dulce de leche sauce was just terrific = Excellent

Trifle – comprised of a passionfruit jelly-like layer, a chocolate mousse layer, a more dense chocolate layer, a scoop of some sort of sorbet (i couldn’t tell what is was because my tastebuds were overwhelmed by all of the chocolate!) and shaved white chocolate on top. There was no taste of chilli at all though. Maybe they forgot to add it? Nonetheless, a rich creation that I would recommend for any chocolate lover = Good

Overall:

I have walked past this place so many times never realising that there was a restaurant here. So we were given the choice of either dining in the brightly coloured retro front area or the dark modern candle lit back area. We decided on the back area as that was where the crowd was at, including the DJ who was happily doing his thing in a dim corner. Service was good but the noise level here was considerably loud so this is not the place to go to for a quiet catch up. Dessert wise, this place was absolutely delectable.

Fonda Mexican

248 Swan Street, Richmond 9429 0085

Charred corn with chipotle aioli, ricotta salata and lime

Thick chips with chipotle aioli

Vegetarian Taco

Chopped beef Burrito

Chicken Burrito

Chicken Quesadilla

Thoughts:

Corn – charred and juicy with a distinct cheese flavour due to the ricotta salata (pressed, dried and salted ricotta). Would have liked to have had more chipotle aioli on it though = Not bad

Chips – thick crunchy chips that were very addictive, especially with the chipotle aioli! = Good

Vegetarian Taco – a light and fresh taco that encased a potato and mushroom croquette, pickled cabbage, avocado creme and coriander = Good

Beef Burrito – a thick tortilla that encased premium beef, black beans, salsa roja and chipotle aioli. A dense and filling burrito that left an enjoyable little spicy after taste = Good

Chicken Burrito – a tortilla that encased chicken, organic quinoa, mexican slaw, shaved apple, watercress and avocado crema. Every bite contained a lovely bit of crunch, a delightful mix of flavours = Good

Chicken Quesadilla – a toasted tortilla that encased roast chicken, queso fresco, wild rocket, avocado crema and celery root. While this quesadilla as a whole was very tasty, what I enjoyed the most about it was the chicken. Tender and bursting with flavour thanks to the free range Bannockburn chicken that they use = Excellent

Overall:

The place to go for cheap, simple Mexican food that actually tastes great! This is one of those places where you have to go and order at the counter, but the service here is fast and staff are very friendly. Keep in mind though that this is a no bookings place and that the kitchen does close early (eg. 9pm on a thursday night).

Wooga Korean Restaurant

270 Victoria St, North Melbourne 9328 1221

Top grade beef rib

Spicy kimchi and pork soup

Seafood pancake

Thoughts:

We ordered the Combo A set menu ($39 pp) which included:

Top grade beef rib (I found this to be extremely tough and chewy)
Top side with salt and pepper (tender and delicious)
Beef brisket (just okay)
Bean paste soup (which we swapped for kimchi and pork soup, which turned out to be good)
Rice (2 bowls)

Seafood pancake – contained lots of egg and not that much seafood, so was just an average pancake. HOWEVER the dipping sauce that comes with it is fantastic! = Not bad

Overall:

Among the multiple Korean BBQ restaurants along Victoria St, I found this one to be so-so. The food overall was average with nothing standing out (apart from the seafood pancake dipping sauce, which I’m not going to count). I found the portions to the Combo A set menu to be on the small side, so unless you eat very little, this set menu will not fill you up. Service to this place was standard with the waiter coming around every now and again to turn our meat on the BBQ. What I did like about this place was that they used good exhaust chutes for each table which made the place less smokey compared to other Korean BBQ places. Having said that there is still no escaping the strong BBQ smell that seeps into your hair and your clothes, that lingers with you once you leave this place.

Kluska

161 Foster St, Dandenong 9793 2154

Nalesniki z miesem (Polish pancakes with mince beef)

Pyzy z grzybami (Silesian dumplings with mushrooms)

Bigos (Traditional meat stew)

Kopytka (Polish gnocchi with beef goulash)

Thoughts:

Polish pancakes – delicious crepe-like pancakes filled with minced beef, served with a side of sauerkraut = Excellent

Silesian dumplings – loved the silky texture and flavour of these glutinous dumplings. Also came with a side of sauerkraut = Excellent

Traditional meat stew – sour! The sauerkraut in this was very overpowering! Hardly any traces of the stew’s other ingredients could be detected (ie. diced beef, pork sausage, dried prunes) = Not bad

Polish gnocchi – quite similar to Italian gnocchi, very filling. Beef goulash was richly flavoured with tomatoes = Not bad

Overall:

The experience was like dining at someone’s house, except that you’re being served by waitresses wearing wianeks (flower wreaths) on their heads. The atmosphere at this restaurant was intimate and cozy, and the decor was folksy and nanna-like (think fruit printed table cloths). Although the menu is quite small, what they do have to offer is delightful genuine Polish fare.

Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea

Recently a friend of mine hosted a morning tea (which turned out to be an afternoon tea) to raise money for Cancer Council Australia for cancer research and patient support. The presentation was simply first-class and everything tasted absolutely amazing! I ate so much that afternoon, but it was all for a wonderful cause!

Albert St Food and Wine

382 Sydney Rd, Brunswick 8354 6600

Crisp pork cheek, scallop, quince, pickled cucumber

Foie gras parfait, toasted brioche, peach & ginger chutney

Chicken, truffle butter, jerusalem artichoke puree

Yellow Fin tuna, white ratatouille, green olive & almond pistou

Valrhona chocolate tart, ‘Poire Belle Hélène’

Meyer Lemon Tart

Thoughts:

Pork cheek and scallop – the pork was melt-in-your-mouth delicious while the scallop was well cooked but didn’t quite stand out. The serving size of this dish was quite small = Good

Foie gras parfait – large serving size of standard parfait and okay brioche = Not bad

Chicken – one of the specials, tender chicken that was very well flavoured = Good

Yellow fin tuna – I was a bit disappointed with this dish. The tuna was bland while the ratatouille and pistou were uninspiring = Not bad

Chocolate tart – the sweet Poire Belle Hélène (poached pear) and the not overly creamy vanilla bean ice cream were the perfect accompaniments to the intense chocolate tart = Good

Lemon tart – Highly delectable with an amazing balance between sweet and sour = Excellent

Overall:

The real reason why I came here was for Phillipa Sibley’s lemon tart, and my high expectations of it were definitely fulfilled. Everything else I sampled was good but not amazing . Thus I say come to this place for the dessert.

Vanilla Cakes and Lounge

17-21 Eaton Mall, Oakleigh 9568 3358

Thick Chips

Spanakopita (Greek spinach pie with feta)

Brioche french toast with maple syrup and stewed pears

Moussaka

Pastitsio

Bougatsa (custard)

Portokalopita (Orange phyllo cake)

Desserts

Thoughts:

Thick chips – When they say ‘thick’, they really mean THICK! = Not bad

Spanakopita – Ideal for a light meal = Good

Brioche french toast – It’s hard to go wrong with brioche. What did surprise me though was how fantastic the stewed pears were; not overly sweet with a bit of a crunch = Good

Moussaka – Generous serving that has a thick béchamel sauce layer along with layers of eggplant, potato and beef mince = Excellent

Pastitsio – Found the beef and pasta a bit dry = Not bad

Bougatsa – Oh so scrumptious! Crispy phyllo pastry wrapped around warm tantalising custard, dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon = Excellent

Portokalopita – Firm yet quite moist, syrupy sweet with a distinct citrus taste = Not bad

Overall:

There is a huge food menu on offer (including a breakfast menu), but I recommend that you try the Greek dishes as a lot of their other dishes are rather average. As for the abundant desserts, I love how there is a mixture of standard ones along with traditional Greek ones. The atmosphere is considerably noisy, and the service at times can be slow if you go during peak periods. Nevertheless this is a terrific place to go for grabbing coffee and/or dessert. Especially late at night on a weekday as they open until 1am 7 days a week!

Dried Bibimbap

Who knew such a thing existed? (Koreans probably) Designed to be super convenient as all you need to do is add water (hot or cold).

Once you open the pack and take out the flavouring sachets and plastic spoon, this is what you’ll see:

Add enough water so that it reaches the marked line inside the package. Close the zipper and wait 10 minutes if you use hot water, 40 minutes if you use cold water. It should then look like this:

Add the flavouring, give the whole thing a mix and voila!

Overall:

Quantity wise, a pack isn’t quite enough for a meal but it is certainly enough for a filling snack.
Although the majority of what you get is rice (with the odd morsel or two of vegetable), the taste of bibimbap is definitely there.
For something that has been freeze dried, this is actually quite good!

Yami Yami

1d Bank St, Box Hill 9890 4588

Agedashi Tofu

Seafood Pajeon (Korean style seafood pancake)

Creamed garlic prawns with kimchi fried rice

Kimchi Jjigae (Spicy stew with kimchi, pork and tofu)

Thoughts:

Agedashi tofu – Warm silky tofu encased in a crisp batter with sweet tsuyu sauce = Excellent

Seafood pancake – perfect for those who like their pancakes on the crispy side, a bit bland so the dipping sauce is needed = Good

Creamed garlic prawns with kimchi fried rice – Amazing! Creamy fried rice that has just the right amount of spiciness in it to give it a tasty kick! = Excellent

Kimchi Jjigae – Spicy and full of flavour = Excellent

Overall:

I have been to this place numerous times and have yet to experience any bad service (which seems to be the main complaint for most of the Urbanspoon reviews of this place) Maybe I just got lucky? Who knows? What I do know for certain is that the food here is delicious, and that I will definitely be returning.